As a carpenter my Bosch drill of choice is the GSR 18V-90 C, because it is just powerful enough and is fairly light. I have the one in the video as backup, but it is to heavy for regular use. The hammer drill function is irrelevant because most people that have tools in that price range have a dedicated hammer drill also. For me the most important feature on a drill is torque in second gear. Low gear takes to long and most drills struggle to drive 140x6mm and larger fastners in second gear.
Hi Jens, thanks for the info. and feedback... much appreciated. Agreed... for everyday general use, when you don't need the extra power, it's a bit on the heavy side... but when you do need some extra kick, it sure does pack a good punch. Do you also run it on ProCore batteries or the standard batteries?
@@GrantBurton All the new batteries are ProCore batteries, but we still use the older batteries for lighter tasks. The last couple of years we have also started to build our own batteries out of kits, so we can customize some batteries for runtime and some for max performance. The price of DIY batteries are about half the price of buying new so if you have the skills it is a simple way to save some money. We have also upgraded some of the older well used batteries with new and better lithium cells.
I’ve owned plenty of drills from Metabo, Makita (LXT and XGT), Hilti, Milwaukee, Dewalt, Fein, Festool and so on. This Bosch is a drilling machine. The motor is huge.
@@GrantBurton They really missed a trick though. Bosch has a very good hybrid mechanical and electronic clutch on their compact drills. This drill doesn’t have one, however, and the mechanical clutch is easily defeated. A shame because it’s got a lot of driving power. A 12v could do 99% of my screw-driving needs, but it’s nice to use something that doesn’t need to put in effort to work. The other Bosch tools loaned to you I know to be lackluster to poor. I do use that rotary hammer on sensitive materials though. Other smaller, faster and more powerful ones I have are too powerful. 😅 Its ramp up to 70% is quite useful on textured (not flat) brick facade, poorly plastered lcement and whatnot and so on.
thanks for the in-depth review. I own the GSB18V-110CN drill and was thinking if it was a good idea to upgrade but I think I'll stick to my tool and I already have the D-Handle 18V rotary Hammer when I need to get through concrete. I only use the drill with 8mm and smaller concrete bits.
Never use the impact function on a ordinary drill, it will always disappoint and is just a common thing to fail on these drills. I'm a DIY-er and i have lidl's copy of this bosch variant drill. it stays in box unless a hole thru kitchen counter is needed or for paint mixing. I have another brushless drill that is lighter - under 1kg total for everything else and another more serious impact sds drill. It is not possible to have a all-in-one drill, it just is how it is, some will be heavy and unsuitable for one jobs and others will cover other types of jobs.
Hi Jernej, thanks for your comment and information... for small holes in 'softer' masonry (below 10mm), these hammer drills seem to do ok, but for anything bigger, I always reach for my rotary hammer SDS. I think for anybody doing professional / contractor type work... having somewhat specialised tools dedicated to a job/task works out better in the long run (example - Rotary hammer, combi-drill, impact driver, angle drill/driver, etc...).
The long auxiliary handle is pretty sturdy and provides a lot of support when correctly tightened, and I think if the handle is completely loosened off (so the teeth are completely free from the gearbox) each and every time it is adjusted, removed or installed... or as long as the teeth are fully indexed into the gearbox and the handle properly tightened when the drill is being used, the teeth are unlikely to slip, ratchet, or skip teeth, and likely won't wear out or shear off over time... BUT in reality, in a work environment where the tool is being regularly used and it's configuration changed, it's highly likely that the handle won't always be completely loosened, or possibly even properly tightened each and every time (because realistically speaking, these types of things happen), in which case, the teeth are more prone to skipping and damage. This is just my opinion and I may be wrong (I'm no expert). I haven't physically seen the Makita brace arm and how it indexes / fastens onto its gearbox so can't really comment on that.
Yip, it is rather large for the drill, but fits pretty well on their new string trimmer... I'm guess in the not too distant future (if not already out... I'm not sure), they will start making packs using pouch cells. I think Stihl uses pouch cells in their new AP500S battery (same physical size as the AP300S pack but higher capacity and power).
@@firebladex8586 Bosch and LXT are the smallest batteries on the market, afaik. Certainly the smallest 12ah I’ve seen. Metabo has a 10ah the size of their 5.5 ah though. Anyway, here in the states, we’ve got all sorts of large pouch cell based packs. The Bosch 12ah is smaller than all of them.
@@ProxyFinal Yeah, for small tasks it is pretty big and heavy, but when you need loads of power, it seems to be a nice and powerful option to be able to reach for.
Thanks for the info... I did also try that but none of these types of 'hammer action / impact' combi drills can deliver as much force / pounding energy as effectively as a rotary hammer... so it's still better to use a rotary hammer drill, especially in old hard concrete.
As a carpenter my Bosch drill of choice is the GSR 18V-90 C, because it is just powerful enough and is fairly light. I have the one in the video as backup, but it is to heavy for regular use.
The hammer drill function is irrelevant because most people that have tools in that price range have a dedicated hammer drill also.
For me the most important feature on a drill is torque in second gear. Low gear takes to long and most drills struggle to drive 140x6mm and larger fastners in second gear.
Hi Jens, thanks for the info. and feedback... much appreciated. Agreed... for everyday general use, when you don't need the extra power, it's a bit on the heavy side... but when you do need some extra kick, it sure does pack a good punch. Do you also run it on ProCore batteries or the standard batteries?
@@GrantBurton All the new batteries are ProCore batteries, but we still use the older batteries for lighter tasks.
The last couple of years we have also started to build our own batteries out of kits, so we can customize some batteries for runtime and some for max performance. The price of DIY batteries are about half the price of buying new so if you have the skills it is a simple way to save some money.
We have also upgraded some of the older well used batteries with new and better lithium cells.
Are you using old battery shells and the BMS circuit and installing new cells, or is it a completely new kit that you put together?
I’ve owned plenty of drills from Metabo, Makita (LXT and XGT), Hilti, Milwaukee, Dewalt, Fein, Festool and so on. This Bosch is a drilling machine. The motor is huge.
Hi Robert, thanks for your feedback, thats good to hear that it stacks up to the rest.
@@GrantBurton They really missed a trick though. Bosch has a very good hybrid mechanical and electronic clutch on their compact drills. This drill doesn’t have one, however, and the mechanical clutch is easily defeated. A shame because it’s got a lot of driving power. A 12v could do 99% of my screw-driving needs, but it’s nice to use something that doesn’t need to put in effort to work. The other Bosch tools loaned to you I know to be lackluster to poor. I do use that rotary hammer on sensitive materials though. Other smaller, faster and more powerful ones I have are too powerful. 😅 Its ramp up to 70% is quite useful on textured (not flat) brick facade, poorly plastered lcement and whatnot and so on.
thanks for the in-depth review. I own the GSB18V-110CN drill and was thinking if it was a good idea to upgrade but I think I'll stick to my tool and I already have the D-Handle 18V rotary Hammer when I need to get through concrete. I only use the drill with 8mm and smaller concrete bits.
You’re welcome 😊
Thanks ! Great content
@@VadymGoncharenko-j4i You’re welcome and thank you
Never use the impact function on a ordinary drill, it will always disappoint and is just a common thing to fail on these drills.
I'm a DIY-er and i have lidl's copy of this bosch variant drill. it stays in box unless a hole thru kitchen counter is needed or for paint mixing.
I have another brushless drill that is lighter - under 1kg total for everything else and another more serious impact sds drill.
It is not possible to have a all-in-one drill, it just is how it is, some will be heavy and unsuitable for one jobs and others will cover other types of jobs.
Hi Jernej, thanks for your comment and information... for small holes in 'softer' masonry (below 10mm), these hammer drills seem to do ok, but for anything bigger, I always reach for my rotary hammer SDS.
I think for anybody doing professional / contractor type work... having somewhat specialised tools dedicated to a job/task works out better in the long run (example - Rotary hammer, combi-drill, impact driver, angle drill/driver, etc...).
I did like the long brace handle. Until you unveiled the problems with it. How about the Makita bracing arm supplied with some models?
The long auxiliary handle is pretty sturdy and provides a lot of support when correctly tightened, and I think if the handle is completely loosened off (so the teeth are completely free from the gearbox) each and every time it is adjusted, removed or installed... or as long as the teeth are fully indexed into the gearbox and the handle properly tightened when the drill is being used, the teeth are unlikely to slip, ratchet, or skip teeth, and likely won't wear out or shear off over time... BUT in reality, in a work environment where the tool is being regularly used and it's configuration changed, it's highly likely that the handle won't always be completely loosened, or possibly even properly tightened each and every time (because realistically speaking, these types of things happen), in which case, the teeth are more prone to skipping and damage.
This is just my opinion and I may be wrong (I'm no expert).
I haven't physically seen the Makita brace arm and how it indexes / fastens onto its gearbox so can't really comment on that.
That 12Ah battery is YUGE. Maybe pouch cells could make a more compact version.
Yip, it is rather large for the drill, but fits pretty well on their new string trimmer... I'm guess in the not too distant future (if not already out... I'm not sure), they will start making packs using pouch cells. I think Stihl uses pouch cells in their new AP500S battery (same physical size as the AP300S pack but higher capacity and power).
@@firebladex8586 Bosch and LXT are the smallest batteries on the market, afaik. Certainly the smallest 12ah I’ve seen. Metabo has a 10ah the size of their 5.5 ah though. Anyway, here in the states, we’ve got all sorts of large pouch cell based packs. The Bosch 12ah is smaller than all of them.
Does this have a mechanical or electrical clutch?
mechanical
Unfortunately they chose to skip an electronic clutch to save money….while spending money on stupid gimmicks like the level and blue tooth.
my issue with this hammer drill is the size.
@@ProxyFinal Yeah, for small tasks it is pretty big and heavy, but when you need loads of power, it seems to be a nice and powerful option to be able to reach for.
you are doing it wrong.
When drilling into concrete, do not put pressure
Thanks for the info... I did also try that but none of these types of 'hammer action / impact' combi drills can deliver as much force / pounding energy as effectively as a rotary hammer... so it's still better to use a rotary hammer drill, especially in old hard concrete.